


Just a Sip

by ShadowoftheLamp



Category: Rick and Morty
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, C-137, Canon Compliant, Episode Related, Gen, no ships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-22 02:35:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12471544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowoftheLamp/pseuds/ShadowoftheLamp
Summary: A collection of moments that Morty tastes alcohol, and moments when he gets more than a taste. It runs in the family.





	Just a Sip

The first time Morty tasted alcohol, he was six. His mother had left a bit in her glass of wine on the table, and he was curious what the red stuff she drank after dinner sometimes was. He slid the glass around, so the lipstick marks were opposite him.

He took a sip and nearly threw up- it tasted like wood and expired grape juice and something that he'd tried in a clear bottle once that had made Dad call the hospital. He made it to the sink and spat it out like a loose tooth, then swished water around to get the taste out.

Adults were weird. Who would wanna drink that stuff?

___________

The second time Morty tasted alcohol, he was twelve and it was offered by his sister. Her boyfriend had dumped her and she had grabbed one of Mom's half-empty bottles from the cabinet. He had no idea how full it had been before, but her cheeks were pink and her eyes were red.

"C'mere," She muttered, holding out her arm, gesturing him over next to her on the bed, and when he got close enough she pulled him into a tight hug.

"Y-yeah. I'm right here, Summer." She didn't get really emotional around him much, so it was... kinda nice. In a weird way. He liked feeling useful.

"Here. I don' wanna end up like Mom. You have some." Summer pulled back and shoved the bottle into his hands. "Tastes like shit, doesn't it?"

"I'unno, Summer..."

"Try it. So you- it tastes like shit, right? So this is the only time we do this." She pressed his fingers into the label. Morty looked at the bottle, then up at her eyes. She was two years older, right, and she was smarter, wasn't she? So it was probably okay. He shrugged and lifted the rim to his lips, taking a swig.

It still tasted bitter, but not quite as bad this time. He could sort of tell there was some kind of fruit flavor.

"Huh." Morty handed it back to his sister, and she pulled a cork out of her pocket to restopper it. "Weird."

___________

The third time Morty tasted alcohol, he was fourteen and it was handed to him by Rick. They'd been captured in some sort of flesh prison, and Morty was trying not to notice the walls closing in with every grotesque pulse.

"Ugh, will you get that- that mopey look off your face? You look like somebody j-just shot a puppy." Rick handed over his flask, gesturing with his chin. "Here."

"R-rick?"

"I'm feeling nice right now, Morty, real nice. I'd take it."

Morty stared at it. It felt slightly cool, and like plain earth metal.

"It's not, like... some... some alien thing that'll kill me, right? That you've got an immunity to or- or something like that?"

Rick rolled his eyes. "No, Morty, it's good old-fashioned Earth booze. Happy? You- you're not gonna keel over. That'd be a dumbass move for me, Morty. A real dumbass move, to just kill you out of nowhere."

"R-right." Morty unscrewed the top and took a swig.

Unlike the wine, the vodka didn't taste like much of anything. Kind of like wheat, he guessed? More like water with a tinge of something off about it, like when he went to someone else's house and their water was weird. His throat burned too. Like it was gasoline he was drinking, but with most of the gross smell and flavor sucked out.

He kept drinking, but then his vision started blurring and he stopped. Rick waved a hand in front of his eyes.  


"You better not have drank all of- all of it."

"N-no, there's still some left." Morty mumbled, holding out his hand and trying to count the fingers.

He felt sick, but not sick enough to throw up. It was an unease deep in his gut, and a warmth spreading through his body.

" 'S this what you do all the time, Rick? Make stuff blurry and numb so... so..."

"Whatever you're thinking, you're not even close." Rick grabbed the flask back, tipping it far enough he was probably draining the rest. "Just keeps the edge off. It's real dangerous out here, Morty, nothing wrong with taking away the monkey fear complex that slows you down."

"I... I guess." Morty wasn't sure if he agreed or not, but at least when things felt dizzy, he didn't notice the squelching sounds and pulsing.

After they escaped, Morty decided he liked vodka better than wine.

___________

The fourth time, he'd gone for the liquor cabinet after the King Jellybean incident but Rick had pulled him aside for a game of checkers and shared another sip out of his flask. He won but the memory ended up in a tube in the basement, so it didn't really matter.

___________

The fifth time was after the Purge planet, when he'd found the candy wrapper declaring it was 'Now Purgenol free'.

__________

The sixth time was after he was pulled aside in school by the Federation, and missed an entire day from interragations about Rick. He just kept repeating that he didn't know anything, that he was always just dragged along, and after Principal Vagina stepped in and mentioned Morty's learning disorder they let him go. He found one of the flasks Rick had dropped behind his bed and drained it.

__________

In the months Rick was in prison, Morty lost count of the times he woke from nightmares and went for the same flask that he would half-fill when no one was looking. Never more than a sip. He didn't know where Rick got the stuff usually in there, but the vodka from the store tasted much more like gasoline so he couldn't handle it as well without gagging.

He didn't think it was more than a sip, after all- it was always late and he was tired. That wasn't a problem. It was just a little. It wasn't like what Rick did.

Just however much he needed to get through.

__________

Morty wasn't sure which time it was, after Rick had passed out on his workbench the day he got home. He wasn't sure he really wanted to, if counting made it less or more awful.

He took a sip of the store-brand gasoline vodka and ran his finger over a flask that contained liquid the color of dried vomit.

__________

He'd had a few sips of the probably-spiked punch at the party after the Vindicators mess, and when Summer asked, he said he was tired and was just getting a little.

She set a hand on his shoulder, then scooped up half a cup for herself.

_________

He'd enjoyed mutating Ethan. He'd gone for the wine that time- it tasted sour and poisonous and he wanted it to. His mouth was sweaty and bitter, and he might as well let it be washed out with something meant to be.

__________

The apartment had been left to Jacqueline, but he grabbed the expensive vodka he'd bought. He'd only used it for a single drink, drowned in other syrups and tastes, and he'd really only done that to show it off. It had seemed like the right thing to do at the time. He took a swig when Rick left him alone that night and tried to forget the past two weeks.

__________

Rick never asked for the lost flask back, but when Morty pulled it out of his pocket and took a gulp that went down his throat like liquid wood, he didn't say anything.

Not a word.

**Author's Note:**

> It's kind of funny I'm writing this since it's a running joke in my family I hate the taste of alcohol of any kind. Since I was little, during holidays they'd give me a little sip of wine or beer and laugh at the funny faces I made at it.
> 
> So the tastes are from good ol' mr google and my own experience really not liking wine.
> 
> Comments and reviews are really awesome, it's what keeps me writing! I love two or three word comments better than kudos.


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